Boards

I really like good album packaging. Ys is fantastically packaged; it suits the subtle, elegant feel of the music on the CD.

On the other side of the coin, Arcade Fire's "special edition" with it's crappy box and pointless little flip-books is the apitamy of poorly executed packaging. Tool's last album is the same. Nice idea, badly constructed (and gimmicky).

So which other CDs have excellent packaging? Whether it be booklet design, paper quality, or innovative packaging, or whatever else.

the 'exciting and innovative' packaging vexes me as it won't sit on my bloody racks properly. Damn them. I'm looking at you, 'Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space' and '13'. Fun as you may well be...

My favourite sleeves are Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate (with free poster!!!!) and the Jackson & His Computer Band LP packaging. lovely.

but I assume it'd come with the vinyl too.
It was like a map/drawing of 'Action Park', with some of the songs depicted as rides, such as the Dog and Pony Show. It's a bit like a wallyless where's wally.

If that's not an incentive to buy a copy of something, I want to know what is!

I used to like inviting girls round to look at nice record sleeves. Happy days.

I thought that was horrible. So gimmicky and tacky. They're a band whose albums I regard as classics that I want to own and preserve forever, and then they go and release an album in a crappy box that falls apart after 2 weeks of owning it.